How much dynamic range does the Sony A5100 offer?

According to measurements carried out by DXO Mark, the sensor in the Sony Alpha A5100 provides a maximum of 12.7 EV of dynamic range (DR). DR is defined as the ratio between the highest and lowest brightness a camera can capture. A value of 12 EV or above is considered excellent.

High dynamic range of a camera sensor is particularly desirable for scenes with a mix of very bright and very dark parts, such as in some landscape photography settings. It helps to avoid that highlights get washed out or that detail in shadows is lost.

Sensor specs and performance

The table below compares the sensor specs of the Sony A5100 to those of several similar cameras. The reported DXO values are indicators of the sensor's imaging quality (higher is better). In addition to dynamic range (DXO Landscape), the listing also covers color depth (DXO Portrait) and high-ISO noise (DXO Sports). Larger sensor cameras tend to outperform cameras of the same generation that are equipped with a smaller imager. On the other hand, larger sensors are more expensive and require bigger and heavier lenses than smaller light receptors.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Sony A5100	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	23.8	12.7	1347	80
2.		Sony A3000	APS-C	19.8	5456	3632	1080/60i	23.7	12.8	1068	78
3.		Sony A5000	APS-C	19.8	5456	3632	1080/60i	23.8	13.0	1089	79
4.		Sony A6000	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.1	13.1	1347	82
5.		Sony NEX-3	APS-C	14.0	4592	3056	720/30p	22.1	12.0	830	68
6.		Sony NEX-3N	APS-C	16.0	4912	3264	1080/60i	22.8	12.5	1067	74
7.		Sony NEX-5T	APS-C	16.0	4912	3264	1080/60p	23.6	13.0	1015	78
8.		Sony NEX-F3	APS-C	16.0	4912	3264	1080/60i	22.7	12.3	1114	73
9.		Sony RX100	1-inch	20.0	5472	3648	1080/60p	22.6	12.4	390	66
10.		Sony RX100 II	1-inch	20.0	5472	3648	1080/60p	22.5	12.4	483	67
11.		Sony RX100 IV	1-inch	20.0	5472	3648	4K/30p	22.8	12.6	591	70

In the United States, the A5100 was initially launched in August 2014 at a price of $549.

Check A5100 offers at
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Camera to camera comparisons

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